The present invention relates to cutting implements and more particularly to a small cutting implement which may be used for cutting paper or similar thin materials.
There has long been a need for a simple and handy tool for cutting the top sheet of a pile of papers or similar materials. In particular, it is often desirable to cut the top page of a newspaper or a magazine which one is reading without cutting the pages below, for example, to cut out a valuable coupon or an interesting article. It is also desirable to be able to cut a coupon from a bond.
A conventional cutting tool, such as a pair of scissors, is often not available and in many situations is not even practical. For example, to use scissors to remove a small clipping from the center of a page, one must either start the cut from the nearest edge of the paper or stab the page near the desired article in order to begin the cut.
A simple device such as a single edge razor blade might be useful in some instances, but there would obviously be little to prevent the user from cutting not only the top sheet, but also one or more sheets below it. In addition, a bare razor can be quite dangerous.
Tools specifically designed for cutting articles out of newspapers have been suggested in the past. For the most part, these tools have been mechanically complex and consequently quite expensive to manufacture and to purchase. Many of these prior cutting tools have had sharp pointy blades which protrude from the tool in a dangerous fashion. This inherently dangerous feature has made such tools particularly inappropriate for use by children.
A further problem with many earlier cutting tools has been the necessity of orienting the tool relative to the paper and maintaining that orientation while moving the tool along the line to be cut. This is often difficult and awkward and may make it difficult to see the area on the paper which one desires to cut.